Ugh, I am doing it part time while working full time (my wife has been doing the same thing). I could not do it with kids and without a spouse.

Since we have both been working, it hasn't been hard to cever our basic expenses. Unfortunately, that has also choppped out pretty much all financial aid except loans (and my wife's degree will end up costing an additional $45k or so). We did a lot of chopping of our expenses, but since we are hardly big spenders to begin with, there wasn't a lot of fat to cut. After about a year, my wife got a job at my school, which meant that they picked up my tuition. We have also piled up $20+k in loans and drawn down a fair bit of savings.

In my new job they are picking up the tab for my school from now on. This has some tax benefits, but more importantly it means that my wife is no longer tied to a particular job (which has become much less pleasant with a change of administration). I also got a huge raise at my new job, which is helping us make the tuition for my wife's degree.

Although I have gotten a great deal out of school because I have been actively applying the material as I learn it, part-time night/weekend school is not for the faint of heart. Both of us have come perilously close to burnout, and at times we have had to basically schedule "dates" in order to see each other. Hobbies, a social life and even getting enough sleep have pretty much been fond memories or in-class daydreams. Have I mentioned that getting up for class every Saturday morning for a year sucks?

In short, I have gotten a lot of value out of it, but I have also paid dearly. As a parent, you couldn't afford the price (not talking money here), which is why I will be damned glad when this is over (May '03). We have also held off having kids until then.

Do it full-time. You'll get more help and you will be less stretched personally and have more time for Chandra.